Several types of prior service may be purchased and included in
your total years of service credit. Purchasing service credit can
increase your retirement benefit and, in some cases, allow
you to retire earlier.
MercedCERA offers two types of service purchases: prior
County/Court service and prior public service. For purposes
of vesting and retirement eligibility, purchased
County/Court service counts toward these MercedCERA milestones,
but purchased prior public service does not.
Purchasing prior public service may not increase the pension of a
member who is awarded a disability retirement, which is
calculated as a percentage of a member’s final average
compensation. Depending on various factors, a disability
retirement benefit may exceed a service retirement benefit, even
with the inclusion of additional service credit due to purchased
prior service.
